MTV: End Exploitation and Trafficking (EXIT)

I have newfound respect for Lucy Liu and Angelina Jolie today.  I hadn’t heard of MTV’s EXIT campaign before but the work that they have done here, along with other campaigners and celebrities, is incredibly valuable.

EXIT stands for “End Exploitation and Trafficking” and it is a multi-media initiative to increase knowledge of slavery and help in its prevention.  The initiative has been produced by the MTV Europe Foundation which is a charity that uses the MTV brand to increase social awareness in young people.

These are links to just three of the videos on the MTV: EXIT site.  They are incredible powerful and well produced short films that will open your eyes to the world of slavery and human trafficking around us.  It is not as complex or as far away as we think and each one of us is a link in the chain of human trafficking.  They are all quite short at 23 minutes in length.

Warning: the videos linked to below may upset sensitive viewers.

Inhuman Traffic: Angelina Jolie

This fast-moving and compelling documentary is narrated by Angelina Jolie.  It tells the story of two women that were trafficked in Europe.  Anna, from Romania, was trafficked by her neighbour and sent to Serbia and Macedonia where she was forced into prostitution for 2.5 years and Tatiana was sold by her boyfriend into prostitution in Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

Traffic: Lucy Liu

Traffic is equally powerful and is presented by Lucy Liu.  This documentary focuses on trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region and tell the story of three victims.  Ana was trafficked from the Philippines at the age of 17 and forced into prostitution; Eka from Indonesia was trafficked into forced domestic servitude in Singapore and Min Aung was trafficked to Thailand along with his pregnant wife and imprisoned for two years in a factory, sometimes working 17 hour days.

Sold: Lara Dutta

This gut-wrenching documentary is narrated by Lara Dutta, an Indian actress and UNFPA Ambassador. This time the focus is on South Asia and on children.  Pramila was tricked into moving from her village in Nepal to a brothel in Pune when she was just 18;  Afsana’s parents were approached by a woman from their own village who offered them money and told them they would get her a good job, she was then trafficked from her village in Bangladesh and forced  into domestic servitude in Calcutta and  and Zakir was sold by his own aunt and taken to work as a slave in a factory when he was just 11.

I would highly recommend these excellent and important videos.  You can also read more of what I have discussed so far on Human Trafficking and Slavery.